Bass, Berry & Sims attorney Tim Garrett was quoted in an article for Law360 Employment Authority discussing DoorDash wage disputes following the recent $17 million settlement agreement with the state’s Office of Attorney General’s Labor Bureau over stolen tips.
“As state attorneys general make such pacts with gig companies, the agreements may not resolve all allegations and companies could face further scrutiny,” Tim stated. “Anything that brings attention like this to that issue of proper pay, proper classification, in a public way, would certainly be concerning, I think, to the companies.”
Another settlement case came in the form of a $175 million deal between the Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell and Uber and Lyft that established standard pay for gig workers.
“They’re creating some pay protections for the gig economy workers, but they’re not really answering the ultimate question,” Tim reasoned. “That is, are they really independent contractors or are they employees?”
Tim highlighted that he could see how an informal resolution “without having to declare that these are employees… would have some attraction to the companies.”
There are still a number of ongoing cases as issues continue to arise between gig workers and companies when it comes to determining fair and transparent pay.
The full article, “DoorDash Rally Shows Wage Disputes Can Outlast AG Deals,” was published by Law360 Employment Authority on April 28 and is available online (subscription required).